


snowy tangles

by sureimiku



Series: fluff bingo [4]
Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Fluff, Hair Braiding, M/M, Snowball Fight, and his hair gets ruined, basically zelos gets caught up in a snowball fight, lloyd is actually a braiding genius
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25122169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sureimiku/pseuds/sureimiku
Summary: Lloyd was definitely a fun person to be around. Being around him could easily lift anyone’s mood. He was charming, kind, and sometimes he could be downright mischievous.At least, Zelos thinks this until a whirling ball of white smashes against his right cheek.
Relationships: Lloyd Irving/Zelos Wilder
Series: fluff bingo [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653430
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23
Collections: Writing Squad Fluff Bingo





	snowy tangles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [seraphwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphwrites/gifts).



> this was another req from my fluff bingo card! it's been a while since i updated this series, i'm hoping to hop back on it this month :) anyway, I finished symphonia at last a few weeks ago and i fell so hard for this ship, i'm glad i had it requested lol. 
> 
> thank you for reading! kudos and comments are always appreciated :)

For whatever reason, Lloyd had decided to start a snowball fight when the party was within feet of Flanoir. The first ball is thrown at Genis, who in return, throws one at Colette to actually begin their game. Zelos chooses to opt out of their fight, not wanting to get any chillier than he already was. But of course, with these three around, certainly that would be unavoidable. Zelos is thinking about running up ahead to the inn and meeting the others later when a ball clashes with his right side. 

“Sorry!” The voice comes from the blonde girl, who’s a few feet away from him. Her smile is wide and warm, in contrast to the blistering gust of cold wind hitting her face. “I meant to throw that at Lloyd!”

“It’s okay, angel.” If there’s anyone he wouldn’t be mad at for throwing a snowball at him it’s definitely Colette, or any of the girls actually. In the distance, the familiar red swordsman is hurling chunks of snow at his childhood friend, with the blonde girl steadily behind him. 

Lloyd was definitely a fun person to be around. Being around him could easily lift anyone’s mood. He was charming, kind, and sometimes he could be downright mischievous. The latter thought becomes clearly evident as a whirling ball of white bursts against his right cheek. 

“Oh crap,” Lloyd yells from a distance away, “that was for Genis!”

Zelos doesn’t realize what he’s so worried about for a second, until the familiar cold sensation makes contact with him, right on his _face_ , and explodes its contents all over his hair. He hears a quick “sorry!” from the swordsman before he returns to throwing _more_ snowballs, which only makes Zelos even more pissed. 

“Oh, so I’m your supposed target for this fight?” He replies rather annoyed, brushing the coldness off his face. Zelos leans down to form a ball of his own, trying to search for Lloyd despite the endless field of white in front of him. Before he can even catch him, another snowball hits him, directly on his hair. His fellow party members are snickering to their selves at this point.

“You should’ve said you were playing with us!” 

“I’m _not!_ I’m trying to get back at you!” At this point, Zelos was not going to be satisfied until he got at least some snow down that stubborn red jacket running around, so he ends up chasing the other three around until he does manage to get Lloyd, directly on his shoulder. At least the only reward from this all was getting to see Colette’s smile, stuck between fits of laughter.

“Eugh, I think that one fell into my boot,” he groans rather loudly, spinning his feet around to face the city. “I’m gonna meet you guys ahead, I can’t stand being in these clothes any longer.” And with that, he makes a mad dash towards the inn before Zelos can even speak up. To add to that, the winds seem to pick up more, flinging his hair everywhere. So much for his plan of getting there before anyone else. 

To his dismay, Lloyd’s the first to the bath— not that he could blame him though, he was soaked all over. His jacket was dyed a darker color and his boots were covered with ice (the thought of having snow soaked through his shoes makes Zelos almost tremble). 

Thankfully Flanoir's inn was warm and soothing the moment you stepped into it. The chosen is tapping his feet against the bedroom’s hardwood floor impatiently when suddenly the door swings open, revealing Lloyd with a towel hanging around his neck. “The bath is open, if you want.”

“I’ll _gladly_ take up on that opportunity.” Zelos tries to make his voice sound as irritated as possible, with his hair an absolute mess and his outfit ruined. “Ah, how I love being in clothes dripping wet from snowballs being aimed at me.” 

“Look, the walk towards Flanoir was getting boring, and we started playing right outside the town anyway.” They had just returned from the Ice Temple, which already left the party frozen to the bone. “It was fun though, you should’ve seen Genis’ face when the snow hit you.” 

“Yeah yeah, getting your hair all messed up and tangled and soaked from snow is definitely _fun_ ,” Zelos replies tiredly, leaning against the wall. He doesn’t choose to lay on his bed, as much as he wants to, because that would end up getting just as soaked and uncomfortable as he felt right now. “...I’m gonna go bathe. And hopefully work my way through this mess of hair.” He picks up a large handful of his red locks, which are now frizzed up and tossed around. 

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry I ruined your hair. Just,” Lloyd starts, “come sit in front of the fireplace when you’re out the bath.” 

Zelos glances at the cracking fire illuminating the room, which is also doing a good job at melting the icy snow off his hair. It _would_ be nice to huddle in front of there when he was done showering and changing into something much warmer. _And maybe chat with Lloyd about visiting Altamira when they have a chance_ , he mentally notes. “Fine.” 

The bath is ten times more wonderful than he expected. Zelos stretches his arms out after submerging himself in the warm water, breathing a sigh of relief as the remains of coldness are washed away. After a few minutes of being whisked away by the heat, he begins or, a more accurate word, attempts— at threading his fingers through his hair. It’s much worse than he thought. Just looking at the clump of knots makes him stressed, remembering how his hair reached all the way down to his _mid-back._

Perhaps dealing with the mess after the bath was a better idea— he just wanted to loosen up a bit and maybe take a nap afterward. His hair journey could come after he slept. 

When he returns to the bedroom, Lloyd is still seated in front of the fire, with a brush in his right hand and a hair tie around it as well. Zelos is almost jealous of his short hair, and how easy it must be for him to brush it in a matter of minutes. The brunette beckons Zelos to sit in the vacant chair next to him. Zelos has no idea what he’s up to, but he sits anyway. 

The fire is inviting, burning, and filling the room with warmth. The coziness is so overwhelming that Zelos doesn’t realize the delicate pair of hands running through his hair. 

“What are you doing?” He asks, startled by the sudden action.

“I said I was sorry earlier, right? The least I could do is help you work your way through combing out your _beloved_ hair.” It was almost as if Lloyd read his mind from a few doors down. 

“I— you don’t need to do that. I can brush it myself,” he lies. He doesn’t want anyone to bother him right now, especially Lloyd; he’s ninety percent sure that he wouldn’t know what he was doing anyway. 

“At least let me braid it, then.”

“...You know how to braid?” 

“I learned to do it for Colette when we were younger. She always asked me to make her hair look the prettiest when we went out for outdoor campfires.”

That was something Zelos would have never expected to learn about Lloyd— coming from someone who usually kept the same hairstyle at all costs, minus the times he did style it for formal parties. He couldn’t really argue back, and his eyes are already starting to droop, so he let Lloyd do his magic. It happens slowly and steadily: the knots and clusters are brushed out first, then comes the sectioning of hair; Lloyd is in awe of how Zelos’ hair cascades much like a waterfall, how bright the red hue is in comparison to his pale skin. In return, the feeling of fingertips lightly brushing over his neck is a _wonderful_ feeling.

He’s about to cross his hair over and start actually braiding when he notices the slight shivering of Zelos’ body, despite the heat radiating in front of him. 

“Sorry, did I pull at anything by accident?”

“No, it’s okay, bud. I haven’t had a braid in a while.” _The only time I wore one was accompanied by fancy clothes and to impress everyone at parties,_ he wants to say. The silent rustling of hair seemed to calm him down, as well as the slow falling snow piling up on the windowsill. The feeling of his locks being twisted and weaved in a familiar notion was enough to almost put him to sleep. 

Once he’s finished, the hair tie is withdrawn from his wrist and wrapped around where Zelos’ hair ended. The braid certainly isn’t perfect, as he hasn’t touched Colette’s hair for a braid in months, but it looks presentable— he’s proud of it. 

“I’m done,” Lloyd says, as soft as he can manage. There’s no response. The period of silence is drawn out even longer until Lloyd breaks it again: “Zelos? I said I’m finished.” He gently shakes his shoulders, and it isn’t until he hears soft snoring that he realizes that Zelos is _sleeping._ Lloyd has no idea when that might have happened, thanks to the mesmerization of the curls and strands of hair that danced around his fingers as he made his way through the braiding process. 

“You could have told me you enjoyed these kinds of things,” he whispers, draping a blanket over him. “I wouldn’t mind doing this again.” _More like, he certainly wouldn’t mind running his hands through Zelos’ hair again._ He swears he sees the older man’s mouth curve ever so slightly after he says that. 

Not wanting to disrupt him, Lloyd turns the light off and exits the room, but not without placing a kiss on Zelos’ forehead before he leaves. 


End file.
